In the late Northern Wei Dynasty, ethnic minorities such as Rouran and Khitan became increasingly powerful. They often sent troops to invade the Central Plains and rob property. In order to deal with them, the Northern Wei Dynasty often recruited a large number of troops and strengthened the garrison on the northern border.
Mulan Joins the Army tells the story of a heroine at that time. It is said that Mulan's surname was Hua and she was from Shangqiu (now south of Shangqiu County, Henan Province). She studied and wrote with her father since she was a child, and did housework on weekdays. She also likes horseback riding and archery, and has developed good martial arts skills. One day, the officer in the yamen sent a notice of recruitment, asking Mulan's father to join the army. But my father is old, how can he join the army and fight? Mulan had no brother, and his brother was too young. She couldn't bear to let her old father suffer, so she decided to disguise herself as a man and join the army on his father's behalf. Although Mulan's parents were reluctant to let their daughter go to war, they had no choice but to agree to her going.
Mulan followed the team to the northern border. She was worried that her secret of disguising herself as a man would be discovered, so she was even more careful. Marching during the day, Mulan followed the team closely and never dared to fall behind. She never dared to take off her clothes when camping at night. When fighting, she always rushes to the front with her good martial arts skills. After serving in the army for twelve years, Mulan repeatedly made extraordinary achievements. Her companions admired her very much and praised her as a brave and good man.
The war was over, and the emperor summoned the meritorious soldiers to discuss their merits and reward them. But Mulan neither wants to be an official, nor does she want wealth. She just wants a fast horse so that she can go home immediately. The emperor readily agreed and sent an envoy to escort Mulan back.
Mulan's parents were very happy when they heard that Mulan was back and immediately rushed outside the city to greet her. The younger brother also kills pigs and sheep at home to comfort his elder sister who has made great contributions to the country. After Mulan returned home, she took off her shirt, put on women's clothes, combed her hair, and came out to thank her companions who escorted her home. The companions were very surprised to see that Mulan was born as a girl. They did not expect that the comrade who had fought with him for twelve years turned out to be a beautiful woman.
The story of Mulan joining the army on her father's behalf spread quickly. Later generations even compiled this into a ballad and spread it widely. These ballads eventually became a long narrative poem "Mulan Poetry", which has been passed down to this day. The story of Hua Mulan has spread far and wide and has been well-known for more than a thousand years. However, there are still many legends about her surname, residence, and year of birth.
As for her surname, some people say it is Zhu, some people say it is the compound surname Mulan, and some people say it is Wei. Xu Wei of the Ming Dynasty said in "The Legend of the Four-Sound Ape" that her surname was Hua, her first name was Mulan, and her father was Hua. Hua Hu is a reserve officer. His eldest sister is Hua Mulian, his younger brother is Hua Xiong, and his mother's surname is Yuan. They are a family of five. This is a view that is still accepted by everyone.
As for the year of birth, Yao Ying said in "Kang Fou Ji Xing" that she was from the time of Emperor Xiaowen to Emperor Xuanwu of the Northern Wei Dynasty; Song Xiangfeng's "Guo Ting Lu" said that she was from the time of Emperor Gong of Sui Dynasty. Da Mao's "Yan Fanlu" says that she was from the early Tang Dynasty, which is more reliable than the Northern Wei Dynasty.
Speaking of her place of origin, Yao Ying thought she was from Liangzhou. The "Wanxian Chronicle" of Hebei Province said she was from Wanxian County, and the "Qing Yitong Chronicle" said she was from Dongwei Village, Qiao County, Yingzhou. , and some people say that she was from Songzhou or Huangzhou. The "Shangqiu County Chronicle" of Henan Province said that she was from Song Village, Qiuhua. The statement in the "Shangqiu County Chronicle" seems to be more reasonable.
However, as the "History of the Development of Chinese Literature" said: "There is really no value in verifying these nonsense. We only need to know that Hua Mulan is a representative of brave women in the north. ”
Indeed, Hua Mulan’s deeds have been spread to this day mainly due to the swan song of the folk song “Mulan Ci”, which is a long narrative poem praising the legend of Hua Mulan who disguised herself as a man and joined the army in her father’s place. story. The poem is written like this:
Chirp after chirp, Mulan is weaving in the house, and the sound of the machine is not heard, but the woman sighs. Ask the girl what she is thinking about, and ask the girl what she is remembering. The girl has nothing to think about, and the woman has nothing to remember. I saw the military post last night and the Khan ordered more troops. There are twelve volumes of military books, each of which has my name. My grandfather has no eldest son, and Mulan has no eldest brother. I am willing to saddle the horse for the city, and from now on I will fight for my father.
You can buy horses in the east market, saddled raccoon dogs in the west market, bridles in the south market, and long whips in the north market. I bid farewell to my parents in the morning and went to the Yellow River in the evening. I don’t hear the mother-in-law’s voice calling the girl, but I hear the sound of the Yellow River water splashing. But I left the Yellow River and stayed at the top of the Black Mountain at dusk. I don’t hear my mother-in-law’s voice calling her, but I hear Hu Qiming tweeting from Yanshan Mountain.
Thousands of miles away to join the army, it is like flying through the mountains. The new energy passes through the gold analysis, and the cold light shines on the iron clothes. A general will die in a hundred battles, and a strong man will return after ten years.
When I return, I see the emperor, who is sitting in the bright hall. Twelve rounds of Ce Xun will reward hundreds of strong men. The Khan asked what he wanted, but Mulan didn't need Shangshu Lang. I am willing to travel thousands of miles to send my son back to his hometown.
When the mother-in-law heard that her daughter was coming, she came out to help the general. When my sister heard that my sister was coming, she took care of her makeup. When the younger brother heard that his elder sister was coming, he sharpened his knife and pointed it at the pigs and sheep. Open the door of my east pavilion and sit on my bed in the west pavilion. Take off my war robe and put on my old clothes. When the window is undressed, the mirror is decorated with yellow decals. When I went out to see my friends, they were all frightened. We have been together for twelve years, but we didn’t know Mulan was a girl!
The male rabbit’s feet are twitchy, and the female rabbit’s eyes are blurred. Two rabbits walking next to each other can tell whether I am male or female.
The emperor is called "Khan" in the poem, and the battle locations are all in the north. Leaving aside the Yellow River, Black Mountain is Shahu Mountain, southeast of present-day Hohhot City in Inner Mongolia. Yanshan refers to Yanran Mountain, which is now the Mongolian People's Government and the Hangai Mountain. The war that Hua Mulan participated in should have taken place between the Northern Wei Dynasty and Rouran.
The Northern Wei Dynasty was established by the Tuoba tribe of the Xianbei people. In the late Western Jin Dynasty, he was named King of Dai and was later destroyed by Fu Jian. Fu Jian was defeated in the Battle of Feishui, and the Tuoba clan restored the country and changed its name to "Wei". After fifty or sixty years of battles, the era of the Ten Kingdoms during the "Five Husties" ended and the Yellow River Basin was unified. It was eighty-six years before Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty passed through five emperors. Emperor Xiaowen advocated the Han culture of the Central Plains, moved the capital to Luoyang, and implemented the Sinicization policy. Today's "Yuan" surnames are mostly descendants of the Northern Wei royal family. At that time, there was a long period of peace, and under the policy of Emperor Xiaowen to equalize land, social and economic development occurred. Hua Mulan lived in such a society.
At this time, the great northern nomadic country that had been founded for 158 years was squirming, that is, Rouran continued to invade the south. The Northern Wei regime repeatedly "drove out of the east road to the Black Mountains" and "went north to the Yanran Mountains" , just three thousand miles north." Fighting with Rouran.
War produces heroes and heroines. When there are no male heroes in the world, there will be female heroes. In the war between the Northern Wei Dynasty and Rouran, there were no outstanding men, so there was the outstanding heroine Hua Mulan.
The beginning of "Poetry of Mulan" explains the urgent military situation at that time: "The Khan increased his troops," "Twelve volumes of military books", and in Mulan's family, in addition to her elderly parents, there are also young children My younger brother, how can my aging father go on an expedition to kill the enemy? However, the call of the motherland is unavoidable. Faced with this double test, Mulan stepped forward: "I am willing to saddle the horse for the city, and I will fight for my father from now on." Mulan is a good daughter, and she will fight for her father. The will to join the army is actually the aggregation of love for his father and loyalty to the motherland, and is a manifestation of the true nature of a heroine.
Hua Mulan is about to go on an expedition. She "buys horses in the east market, buys saddles in the west market, buys bridles in the south market, and buys long whips in the north market." She is so anxious and nervous, and her morale is so high. She bid farewell to her parents in the morning and stayed on the bank of the Yellow River at night. The march was so urgent, the military situation was so tense, and the military orders were overwhelming. As a young girl, leaving her boudoir and entering the battlefield was so different from entering another world. In the dim dusk, a female warrior is waiting for danger. This is such a desolate and tragic state. "The water of the Yellow River roars and splashes." "The barbarians in Yanshan chirp."
"Generals die in a hundred battles, and heroes return in ten years." It can be seen that wars are very frequent, and the years are very long, so many General Butterfly Blood Battlefield, it is not easy for Hua Mulan to come back alive. That is:
The north wind shakes the desert, and the barbarian soldiers are waiting for help; the general is arrogant to the enemy, and he is ready to fight;
Wild tree flags; Sichuan and Hui group training; the focus of the law is frightening, and the authority respects orders. Cheap;
The sharp shovel penetrates the bones, the shocking sand enters the face, the host and the guest interact with each other, and the mountains and rivers are dazzled;
The sound analyzes the mountains and rivers, and the thunder and lightning collapse. It's as if the darkness is closed and the sea is freezing cold;
The snow is up to the shin, and the ice is on the beard. When the weather is bitter and cold, the weather is strong and strong,
The murderous spirit of the mausoleum is used to cut and slaughter each other. They cut off the baggage and attacked the soldiers; the new captain surrendered and the general's army was annihilated; corpses filled the shores of Jugang, and blood filled the caves of the Great Wall.
...The birds are silent and the mountains are silent, the night is long and the wind is getting colder, the souls are knotted and the sky is dark,
Ghosts and gods gather in the clouds, the sun is cold and the grass is short, The moon is bitter and frosty white.
Mulan is back and it’s not easy. She values ??the preciousness of life and understands the warmth of family. She refused the emperor's reward and did not want to serve as an official in the court. She gently left behind her glory and wealth. She was willing to travel thousands of miles and return to her hometown as soon as possible.
When she came back, her elderly parents supported her and came out to greet her. Her elder sister put on her make-up to welcome her, and her younger brother sharpened his knife to the pigs and sheep to welcome her back with practical actions. Seeing all this, Hua Mulan was sincerely happy. Twelve years of life and death on the battlefield were so difficult. It was so difficult to disguise herself for twelve years without showing any trace. However, after all this has passed, Hua Mulan's inner spiritual power must be so great.
When life settled down, her former partners came to see her again. She always pretended to be her daughter to see them. To her frightened past partners, Hua Mulan said in her heart: Do you understand? In the past, I fought bloody battles with you and made great achievements; after returning to the court, I don't want to be a minister. I am a girl.
How proud Hua Mulan is to give my daughter back her true colors.